The prior art contains numerous types of golf ball retrievers for picking up golf balls from various locations. However, these prior art retrievers have suffered from various shortcomings which have severely restricted their widespread commercial acceptance. Many retrievers cannot pick up a golf ball in confined areas, such as holes and crevices, or from mud, sand, or murky waters. Some retrievers require that the retriever be precisely placed on the golf ball, relying on a trigger mechanism or cup device to grasp the golf ball. Other retrievers must be forcefully pushed on the golf ball which requires that the golf ball be on a relatively hard surface. Still other retrievers require manual extraction of the golf ball from the retriever. Many retrievers are expensive to manufacture and difficult to assemble and disassemble. Other difficulties involve positioning the retriever relative to the golf ball. Such positioning is accomplished by utilizing the end of the retriever as an aiming device. In many instances, the end of the reliever may be difficult to see due to where the golf ball is located. When stored within a golf bag, most retrievers can become entangled with other items within the bag causing the retriever to lose its functionality.
From the foregoing, it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a golf ball retriever which is easy to manufacture and assemble, can be easily positioned relative to the golf ball, can grasp the golf ball in various retriever positions, and requires no manual intervention to extract the golf ball from the retriever. A need has also arisen for a retriever that can pick up a golf ball from confined areas or from mud, sand, or murky waters and can be stored without becoming entangled with other items within the bag.